YouGov: Hardware, content players best placed in OD market

According to research firm YouGov, sector players controlling hardware and content will be in the strongest position to benefit from changing trends in media consumption. The current fragmented market will also be consolidated, suggests the company, with major players set to shake-up the market. The future of content on demand is likely to see increased popularity of digital content ecosystem UltraViolet.

The predictions were made as part of a London briefing on the topic organised by UK trade body the Digital Television Group following a survey looking at how consumers accessed entertainment.

Sky, Google, Apple and Amazon were highlighted as being in the first rank of major sector players, with Samsung and Tesco typified as players “getting in on the act”.

YouGov’s Technology and Telecoms Director Russell Feldman also suggested that 4G mobile telephony was not ready to take off yet because of high price points. The majority of viewing would be done via WiFi in the home or downloaded and consumed on the go.

In terms of how this would affect linear TV viewing, Feldman advised that the majority of TV viewing is still linear, with pay-TV provider set-top boxes disrupting OTT innovation. There was, however potential for ‘cord-cutting’ as OTT services become more seamless. “Linear still has important role to play. On-demand successes is still driven by content with linear heritage,” he noted.
In terms of consumer expectations and willingness to pay for content, ‘free’ is a key driver, especially for the younger respondents. Findings suggested that these respondents are pirating more content and don’t care about the consequences.

“It’s difficult to get users to pay for content once they are used to accessing it for free,” noted Feldman. “Those controlling the hardware and the content have best revenue,” he added.

Recommending that providers needed to attract customers from other services, Shaun Austin, Associate Director for Media Consulting, noted that of those respondents, six per cent of those not currently streaming films or TV said they were likely to start in next 12 months.